The regiments depart: A history of the British Army, 1945-1970

Engineering & Transportation

Blaxland, Gregory

Engineering

Kimber

The plain cook and the great showman: The First and Eighth Armies in North Africa

History

Europe

It is a peculiar genius of the British to be able to turn a devastating defeat into something to be celebrated. Dunkirk is but the most recent example; militarily, the only redeeming feature was that it was not a catastrophe. The largely successful evacuation of thousands of British (and, let it not be forgotten, French) soldiers, albeit minus most of their equipment, now occupies a well-established place in British historical memory. The outcome of the ignominious end of Britain's expeditionary army was soon transformed into a celebration of the 'Dunkirk Spirit'; the Blitz of the following months reinforced the idea that Britain alone was prepared to stand up to the forces that threatened the democratic world.\nOriginally published in 1973, this welcome reprint of Gregory Blaxland's beautifully narrated account of the campaign in France and Flanders is combined with an adept use of the wealth of memoirs and regimental histories that emerged in the decades after the war's end. It has the advantage that it is written by one who served in the campaign, admittedly as a very junior officer, and was himself evacuated from the beaches of the Dunkirk perimeter.\nPopular memory concentrates on the evacuation; but there were several weeks of desperate fighting that preceded the final evacuation from Nantes and St Nazaire on 18 June. These engagements, fought amongst the confusion of coalition warfare and often suffering from lamentably poor communications, produced many heroes, of whom too many are nameless. Valuable time was bought that enabled the Dunkirk perimeter to be established. The fact that well over half a million allied soldiers were brought over to England is in itself a tribute to their tenacity. This is their story.

Destination Dunkirk;: The story of Gort's army

The Buffs originated in 1572 from a company of 300 men raised from London-trained bands sent to aid the Protestant cause in Holland. Upon their return to England, the Company re-formed as a single regiment, the Holland Regiment, which later became known as "The Buffs." In the years that followed, this highly esteemed regiment served in conflicts ranging from the Peninsular War to World Wars I and II. This book details the history of the Buffs from their inception to their demise as an independent unit in 1967, focusing particularly on their uniforms, including the distinctive dragon badge.

The Buffs (Men-at-Arms)

Military

Osprey_Publishing

The Buffs: Royal East Kent Regiment, the 3rd Regiment of Foot (Famous regiments)

Leo Cooper

The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) (The 57th and 77th of foot) (Famous regiments)

Cooper

Great Britain -- History, Military. England -- Description and travel. Battles -- England -- History.

South-east Britain, eternal battleground

Meresborough

The Queen's Own Buffs, the Royal Kent Regiment, 3rd, 50th and 97th of Foot

The Queen's Own Buffs Regimental Association

Gregory Blaxland has written a superb account of 1918, the final year of the war when the balance of advantage between the combatants changed so dramatically in a matter of weeks that summer. As the realities of the changing nature of warfare by late 1917 made the retention of static lines, no matter how sophisticated, no longer a long term viable option for the defence; and with Russia knocked out of the war, the Germans under Hindenburg and Ludendorff determined on a bold series of major offensives, the first of which was aimed at the British Fifth Army with the objective of seizing Amiens, a crucial rail head and the city that marked the boundary between the BEF and the French. Capture this and the Germans had a good chance of separating the key allied powers. Despite almost destroying Fifth Army and advancing within ten miles of Amiens, the Germans failed in their objective; they turned to a number of other hard thrusts along the line but were foiled on each occasions. Reinforced by substantial numbers of American troops, the allies launched their first, French led, counter attack on 18 July, which many considered the turning point of the 1918 campaign and, indeed the whole war. Shortly afterwards, on 8 August, the BEF (with some French support) attacked with Fourth Army before Amiens and was stunningly successful – what Ludendorff described as the ‘Black Day of the German Army’. There followed a sequence of blows by all the allies along the Western Front, pushing the Germans back to the borders; with her allies collapsing and with the Imperial Navy in a state of mutiny, The book largely concentrates on the British and Dominion troops of the BEF. The first half is taken up with the attack on Amiens (and, to a lesser extent, on Arras). In the second half of the book the author provides a cohesive account of the British response in retaking the initiative from the Germans, though not failing to give allied nations their due. Besides giving a full narrative account, he also provides a useful critical commentary of the performance of armies and generals. This is a welcome reprint of an accessible account of the crucial year of the war, when on the Western Front the conflict broke free of its entrenched deadlock. Despite the extraordinary achievements of the BEF in 1918, they still remain remarkably little known and even less appreciated.

Amiens 1918: Victory from Disaster

Pen and Sword Military

It is a peculiar genius of the British to be able to turn a devastating defeat into something to be celebrated. Dunkirk is but the most recent example; militarily, the only redeeming feature was that it was not a catastrophe. The largely successful evacuation of thousands of British (and, let it not be forgotten, French) soldiers, albeit minus most of their equipment, now occupies a well-established place in British historical memory. The outcome of the ignominious end of Britain's expeditionary army was soon transformed into a celebration of the 'Dunkirk Spirit'; the Blitz of the following months reinforced the idea that Britain alone was prepared to stand up to the forces that threatened the democratic world. Originally published in 1973, this welcome reprint of Gregory Blaxland's beautifully narrated account of the campaign in France and Flanders is combined with an adept use of the wealth of memoirs and regimental histories that emerged in the decades after the war's end. It has the advantage that it is written by one who served in the campaign, admittedly as a very junior officer, and was himself evacuated from the beaches of the Dunkirk perimeter. Popular memory concentrates on the evacuation; but there were several weeks of desperate fighting that preceded the final evacuation from Nantes and St Nazaire on 18 June. These engagements, fought amongst the confusion of coalition warfare and often suffering from lamentably poor communications, produced many heroes, of whom too many are nameless. Valuable time was bought that enabled the Dunkirk perimeter to be established. The fact that well over half a million allied soldiers were brought over to England is in itself a tribute to their tenacity. This is their story.

Destination Dunkirk: The Story of Gort's Army

Americas

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Blaxland, Gregory. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Blaxland, Gregory